Thursday, February 3, 2011

Run #32 - Speed, Hills, Future Races

I was supposed to run on Tuesday. I kind of had a mini temper tantrum and that didn't happen. I am just so over running in the dark all the time. I love my long runs so much now because not only do I love hitting new distances, but I like to be able to see where I'm going. I just got so fed up with the dark and the cold and my Garmin wouldn't turn on and then Glee was coming on and then Glee kept stuttering and then it was dead air and then that girl ruined one of my favorite Rocky Horror songs again (dang repeats) and I just said NO! (That sentence was so fun to type. Run on much??) So anyway, I did my Tuesday run last night instead. The plan was to do 5 miles. Well, my legs were just itching to go - and then wanted to go faster than they probably should have. I ended up cutting it short by one mile, focusing more on maintaining that faster pace while also hitting as many hills as I could find in my path. The Shamrock 15K, two weeks after the Princess 1/2, appears to be one 4.5 mile uphill battle, followed by a downhill finish. Gotta work on those hills!!

I figured out why I was going faster than I should have for this distance (I mean 5 miles isn't the easiest thing yet, but getting there!). It wasn't intentional, but once I realized I couldn't slow down I just went with it. It is because I was listening to my favorite podcast about Steve Prefontaine. There are a lot of clips of races he ran. You hear the commentators talking about him, the pace they are all running, who is in what position, yada yada yada. I naturally start going faster the more they get into it. I don't feel bad for missing a mile of it. I'll make that up tonight, or I won't. It is okay. I still gave myself a really good work out. 4 miles in 41 minutes with all of those hills? Not too shabby for this ol' girl!

FYI, I'm probably going to start getting extra annoying. Once vacation month hits I can't concentrate on anything else. If I'm not running, I'll be daydreaming about Florida and what I want to do first. What drink will I have first? Which park should I hit on Thursday? What will this trip's "gift with purchase purchase" be? (Yeah, if you spend X amount of dollars you can buy the gift with purchase.) How much money will I spend at the expo? How big will the start line fireworks be? How many bloggers will I be able to find? I'll try to contain my excitement for as long as I can, but we are officially less than 3 weeks out from my departure date, so it will be tough!

And then I think I never made the announcement, but, since they threatened me with a message of "We are almost sold out and may close registration early," I went all out and registered for this:


An inaugural half marathon in my college town finishing on the football field? And you're giving me a medal on top of it? Yes, please! Adding this into my rotation (combined with the Princess Half and Eugene Half) will apparently qualify me as a Half Fanatic. Ha! Me??? The girl who can't run?? CRAZY!!


OH!! I ran in my trusty Skirt Sports Gym Girl Ultra last night - no chafing problems. My leg is healing up nicely - but it is still gross and scabby. But then again, I see any form of blood from running... and smile!

Coming up later, my favorite Disney things to do NOT in a park!
Okay, I'm so excited about Florida that my #1 gay and I are already planning our celebratory post-race drinks .... after the DisneyLAND half in September. I really need to be reigned in a bit.
And it is very possible that I was looking at hotels yesterday ... for the Vegas half .... in December. 
I might need rehab or something. A detox program maybe?

15 comments:

  1. Embrace the running. EMBRACE IT.

    The Vegas half is awesome, because it's up and down the strip. Great sites the whole time.

    Have you registered for the DisneyLAND half yet? I was thinking, since I have to go to the expo the day before anyway, I'd be up for doing the 5k with you on Saturday, and then the half mary on Sunday. It's a super easy drive at 4am. hahahaha.

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  2. This is a fabulous idea, Rose!! I did register - I did it the second they opened registration. I haven't registered for the 5K yet because I was wanting to make sure I had somebody to walk it with me. I kind of like the thought of just a fun pre-BIG race walk, and getting rewarded for it with a medal!

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  3. I cant wait to hear about what you recommend!

    I want to completely maximize this trip with fabulousness!

    What day are you arriving?

    I heard that one should get to the expo early and preferabley on the first day, so I'm flying in Thursday night so I can be there for the Expo on Friday!

    Besides a 13.1 sticker, I have no clue what else I'll be buying! I've never been to a huge expo before.

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  4. My mom and I get to Florida Wednesday night. That way we can have time to adjust to the 3 hour time change before race day. I would get to the expo early Friday for sure. I heard that last year some official merchandise was already sold out. They had EVERYTHING there! Skirts, shorts, pants, hats, coats, wine glasses, tiaras, everything! I was kind of overwhelmed with it all last year since it was my first expo, but now I'm really excited!

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  5. Can't wait til you get your HF shirt!

    And, the Skirt Sports Gym Girl Ultra skirts are my favorite too. I can't wait until the weather gets warmer to wear mine. Right now I'm running in their Lotta Breeze Capris, I really like them as well.

    I'm enjoying your Disneyworld posts. I need to get this race on my bucket list.

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  6. Ooh - I totally forgot I have two Lotta Breeze Capris. I will start wearing those for an extra bit of warmth at night. Thanks! :)

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  7. hey RR...NO disco parites here (yet) feel free to bring a disco globe and we'll set it up in the yard with some KC lights and a few dunebuggies and tractor tires for seats.

    Then we'll blast the ABBA and boogie down in the gravel/grass and drive the neighbors nuts =D

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  8. also- glad to see that Corvallis is having a half now! Crummy timing this year, though, (for me).

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  9. I love your Disney/vacation-planning posts. They could never get annoying. It helps me believe I'm a little more normal :)

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  10. Glad you guys are enjoying the Disney posts! I have the next lined up and ready to publish, but I have to throw in a few pictures first to break up all of my babble. That will come tonight - probably after/during American Idol.

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  11. Awesome!! I've been looking at Vegas hotels too...

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  12. I think we may need to stage an intervention for you. Not for running, but for your love of Disney. You're even seeing hidden Mickey's on photos in my blog. Girl, you've got it bad! I'm so excited that your trip is coming up so soon.

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  13. That sounds awesome!!
    I'm with you when it comes to running in the dark. At first it was a nice change of pace - now it's just sucky.

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  14. Can't wait to read more Disney posts! Can you believe it's almost here?!

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  15. @Tara -- I even have a Hidden Mickey on my body. No joke!

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Thanks for reading my little blog, your comments rock my compression socks!! ºoº